Band-stretcher



v. RAGONA. BAND STRETCHER. I APPLICATION FILED JULYZOI 1918.

1,343,336. Patented June 15, 1920.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

fizzle/liar 2v. RAGONA. BAND STRETCHER.

' APPLICATION FILED JULYZO, I918- I 1,343, 336. I Patented June 15, 1920.

2 SH RTS-SHEET Z- UNITED STATES PATEN'E QFFlC gE.

vnvcnm BAGONA, or rgaooxpvn, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB, BY vr nsin ASSIGNMENTS,

TO CARY vnmorncronnm ociviranv, or enooxrvn, new YORK, Q A- T'ION OF NEW YORK.

masses.

BAND-.STRETGHER.

anemone Letters n Patented June 15,1920.

Application filed July .20, 1918. Serial 'No. 245,911.

To all whom, it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, ViNonNrRxco A, a citizen of the United States, residing 1n the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have .invented a certain new and nsefu'l Band-Stretcher, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an implement for stretching a band around a packing case or box, a bale of material, etc.

The implement of this invention is designed primarily for drawing (a metal band or strap, of flat cross section, around a shiping package of one form or another, to the end that the band or strapmay be applied so tightly to the package as to .bind the same in a secure manner. 7

The tight application of a rflat band to a shipping package is dependent, to a certain extent, upon several conditions, among which are that the band should be gripped and stretched while it remainsclose to or in contact with the surface of the package, and that the band be stretched by pulling-the two end portions toward each other.-

The foregoing ends are attained'by my invention, the same embodying a plurality of crossheads, and means for moving the same relatively'to each other, each of the two crossheads being constructed with a gripper of novel form. Each gripper embodies a, fixed jaw the operative face of which is on the under surface of the crosshead, one .or more movable jaws the operative face or faces of which are in opposing relation to the similar face of the fixed jaw, and a single manually operative device the pivot of which is separate from the pivotal support of the movable jaw .or aws. Said operating device :is .a cam lever the eccentric face of which is positioned for contact with a part of the movable jaw or jaws, said lever being .shiftable at will and cooperating with the jaw or aws in a man ner to retain the latter in their operating positions, whereby the cam lever so controls the movable jaw or jaws as to securely grip the hand against the possibility ofthe gripper sliding relatively to the band when power is applied for stretching the band. I

My stretcher is operated, preferably, with a screw motion, said screw acting to impart movement simultaneously to the crossheads in a manner to draw them together or to move them apart. Experience shows that a hand :held at one end and pulled at the other end cannot be drawn tightly around apackage without resorting to a high car- :bon steel band which will stand the strain, and, further, the operation requires time and labor. It is apparent that when strain is applied at one end only of the band, it must be drawn around the four corners of a box, hence there is considerable frictional resistance and as a rule the band is not ap- Figure l is. a plan view of my band stretcher showing a preferred form thereof.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation.

Fig. 3 is .a vertical section taken lengthwise through a part .of one crosshead, the dotted lines showing the non-active position of the gripper. 1

Fig. 4 is a cross section at right .angles to Fig. 3 and taken through the movable jaw in the plane of thepivot thereof.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing another embodiment wherein each gripper is .constructed with a fixed jaw and a plurality of movable aws.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the stretcher shown in Fig. 5.

Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged views of one of the grippers in the implement of igs. 5 and 6, Fig. 7 showing the gripper in position ready for closing upon a band, whereas Fig. 8 shows the gripper in closed position for clamping the band against the fiat under face of the fixed jaw.

Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of a portion of one of the moi'able jaws in the As shown, the uide stem is attached to one crosshead, as F, by a pin 03, the stem being fitted in the crosshead A so that the latter may slide freely on said stem.

The screw spindle is provided with a righthand thread for a part of its length and with a lefthand thread for another part of its length, see Figs. 1 and 2. The crosshead A is provided intermediate its ends with a screw threaded opening to reeeive one part of the spindle G, whereas the other crosshead B is similarly provided with a screw threaded opening .of an opposite hand to the thread in the opening of the crosshead A so that the other threaded part of the spindle G will work in the opening of said crosshead B. Suitable means are provided for imparting rotative movement to the screw spindle. A crank C is attached to one end portion of the screw spindle, see Figs. land 2, but the means for imparting 'said' rotative movement may consist of a' lever adapted for rotating a pawl and ratchet as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and to be hereinafter described.

The crossheads A, Bare equipped with movable jaws E and withcam levers F, said parts being constructed and organized for securely gripping a band while permitting the said band to remain, for all practical purposes, in contact with the surface of a shipping package, or at least to grip the band in quite close relation to the shipping package, so that no appreciable slack will take place in the band after it shall have been drawn taut by the operation of the stretching device.

Each crosshead is constructed for the reception of the gripping jaw and the cam lever, said construction being indicated more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. The end por tion of the crosshead, at the end remote to the stem D, is provided with a slot (4 which extends through the crosshead rearwardly from the extreme terminal portion of said crosshead, thus leaving a certain part of the crosshead solid therewith or in an intact condition; said solid portion constituting a fixed aw G. The solid part or fixed aw of the crosshead is cut out or notched as at b for the accommodation of the cam lever, and thus each crosshead is provided with a transverse slot 0; and with a notch Z), the latter opening into the slot as shown in Fig. 3. The fixed jaw G is provided with a gripping face 9, said gripping face being onthe underside of the crosshead i. e the gripping face is on that side of the crosshead which lies in contact with a shipping package when the stretching device'is applied to said package for stretching a band around it. In ad dition to the slot a and the notch b, the under face of the crosshead is cut away sli htly in order, to receive-the movable jaw t, the gripping face of which jaw is in opposing relation to the gripping face 9 of the fixed jaw G. Said movable jaw- E is provided with a shank e, the latter extending into or through the slot a, as shown more particularly in F i s. 3 and 4. Said movable jaw is connected or pivotal relation with the crosshead by a pin 6' which passes through the shank of the movable jaw and through the side walls produced in the crosshead by the slot a therein, whereby the movable jaw is pivotally attached to the crosshead for its gripping face to be movable relatively to the gripping face of the fixed jaw.

To provide for the ready introduction of the fiat band between the gripping faces of the fixed jaw and the movable jaw, it is preferred to employ means for separating the movable jaw from the fixed jaw, said means being shown in Fig. 3 as a spring H which is seated in a socket h of the crosshead and is in engagement with the shank e of said movable jaw, said spring acting against the movable jaw to move it into the dotted line position of Fig. 3.

The operating means for imparting movement to the jaw 6 against the energyof the spring H is the cam lever F, the latter being mounted in the crosshead independently of the pivotal connection between the jaw E- and said crosshead. The lever is provided at one end portion with a cam head f, the same being fitted within the notch b of the crosshead and being attached to said crosshead by a pivot pin f. The lever is positioned above the fixed jaw G, and a cam face f of said lever is in contact with an edge portion of the jaw shank e, the spring H acting to press the jaw shank normally into contact with the cam face, see Fig. 3; It will be noted that the cam lever is a separate piece from the movable jaw, and that the movable jaw and the cam lever are separately mounted in the crosshead, whereby the cam lever is adapted to be pressed into operative position so as to impart movement to the movable j aw and to retain or lock said movable jaw in a closed position relatively to the fixed jaw as a result of which the fiat band is so firmly grippedbetween the opposing faces of the two jaws that the crosshead cannot slip relatively to said fiat band. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the cam levers F extend outwardly from the crossheads A, B when said cam levers are moved to actuate the movable jaws for gripping the band to the crossheads, each cam lever F having an axis of movement parallel to the axis of rotation of the screw spindle for the reason that the fulcrum pins fof the cam levers are parallel to the screw spindle. This organization is advantageous because the cam levers F are out of the way ofthe operator when after stretching the band, it becomes necessary to manipulate the meeting or lapping end portions of the band, thus .providing ample space between the crossheads and the cam levers within which .to conduct the operations necessary to join the lapping end portions ofthe band.

The operation of the implement shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, is as follows: A flat metal band X is passed any suitable way around a packing case Z. The implement is laid upon or against the .case, with .the cam levers F in raised positions and with jaws E in opened positions as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The operator slips the respective end portions of the band into the spaces between thejaws E, G on "the two orossheads A, B, after which :the operator presses :down upon the levers F, the cam faces of which act on the jaws E so asto turn the latter into the closed positions shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The end portions of the band are thus gripped to the crossheads A, B. The operator turns the screw spindle which imparts movement simultaneously to the crossheads and the grippers thus drawing the crossheads toward each other and simultaneously applying tension to the band in two directions whereby the end portions of the hand are drawn into lapping engagement and said band is put under tension throughout its entire length, as a result of which the band is drawn tightly around the packing case, so as to bind its cross boards into firm contact with its end pieces. The screw has a double action upon the crossheads so as -to draw them equally together, and said screw affords means whereby very considerable power is applied to the band in order to draw it tightly, @the described operation of stretching the band being per- .formed without lifting the band away from the packing case for .an appreciable distance in order that there maybe a minimum slackening of the band upon .the removal of the implement. The band having been stretched the operator proceedsto couple or unite .the lapping end portions of said band, which operation can be easily performed in .any suitable way for the reason that the several parts of the implement are so spaced with respect to the lapping bandends vas to permit the operator to .easily and freely apply the attaching means. The band having been stretched and secured it is only necessary for the operator to lift the cam levers and to withdraw the implement from the band and lift it away from the case, thus releasing the band from engagement with the grippers sothat the slight amount of slack in the band will be taken up by the relative movement of the band to the (packing case, the net result being that the band is tightly and securely applied.

The implement shown in Figs. 1 to i, the

main difference between the two implements being that each gripper inFigs. 5 to 9 consists of a fixed jaw and two movable aws.

.Said implement aembodiescrossheads A, B,

a screw spindie C for threaded connection with said crossheads and a stemD attached to .one crosshead and fitted sl-idably in the other crosshead. Each .crosshead is provided with slots or recesses a, a ,.said slots being separated by an intermediate solid portion of the crosshead, which solid por- :tion constitutes the fixed jaw G the gripping face 9 of which'is -.on-the under side o'fithe crosshead. Each crossheadisequipped with two moving jaws J, K positioned .on opposite-sides of the fixed jaw G, said movable jaws being formed with shanks j, 70, which shanks are positioned within the recessesor slots a, at. The jaws are pivotally attached to the crossheads by pins 9', 7: :and said jaws are engaged by springs L which are suitably attached "to :the .crosshead and act on the shanks of .the jaws so as to normally spread them .to the open positions shown in Fig. 7. The under faces of :the jaws are curvedas at m and said jaws extend from the inner edges .of the shanks,tt-11e extending portions of the jaws being tapering, see Figs. 7 and 8. I

The two jaws are actuated simultaneously by a cam lever F, one end portion of said lever fitting loosely in a recess n provided in the fixed jaw Gr,'and said lever being fulcrumed to said fixed jaw by a cross .pin n the latter being so positioned that its axis is at a right angle to the axis of rotation of screw C This cam lever F is positioned for operation between the shanks j, 76 of the movable .j aws J, K, and said lever is furnished with a cam O, the faces .0, 0 of which are in contact with the shanks j, k of the :movable jaws.

The screw spindle C may, if desired, be rotated by a crank such as the crank C of Figs. 1 and 2, but when the band tightener is used on larger packing cases so that it is notexpedient to have anend portion of the screw extend beyond the packing case, {then it is preferred-to employ a rotating lever P which carries apawl 19 adapted for .engagement with a ratchet 79 attached to the screw intermediate the threads thereof, see Figs. Sand 6.

The operation of the implement shown in Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive is as follows: The

1 band X is passed around the packing case or against the shanks j, 70 and moves the jaws J, K toward the fixed jaw so that said movable jaws J, K are pressed against the under face of the band and thus the movable jaws grip the band tightly against the under face of the fixed jaw, whereby the two movable jaws cooperate with the fixed jaw in holding the band so tightly in position so that there is no relative movement between the band and the crosshead. The band having been gripped to-the respective crossheads, the operator manipulates the lever P so as to impart rotative movement to the screw, and the two crossheads are thus drawn toward each other for the purpose of stretching the band. 'lhe band having been stretched to the required extent by drawing simultaneously upon its respective end portions, the operator proceeds" to couple or fasten the lapping end portions of the band, after which. the cam levers F are operated to re lease the grippers and the implement is removed from the packingcase.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I'claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a band stretcher, a plurality of crossheads each provided with a fixed jaw the active face of which is upon the under side of said crosshead, a pivoted jaw movable relatively to said active face of the fixed jaw, a cam lever mounted separately from the pivoted and operable to control the latter, the axes of the movement of the pivoted jaw and the cam lever being parallel and means for imparting relative movement to said crossheads. I V

2. An implement for stretching flat bands embodying a plurality of crossheads each of which is slotted to produce a fixed jaw the gripping face of which is on the under side of said crosshead, a movable jaw pivoted in the slot of the crosshead for movement relatively to said gripping face, a cam lever pivoted to said crosshead and contacting with the movable aw, the axes of movement of the pivoted jaw and the cam lever being parallel and means for effecting movement of the crossheads relatively to each other.

3. An implement for stretching flatbands embodying a plurality of crossheads each of which is slotted to produce a fixed jaw the gripping face of which is on the under side of said crosshead, a movable jaw pivoted within the slot of the crosshead and movable relatively to. the gripping face of the fixed jaw, a cam lever fulcrumed' on the crosshead, said cam lever being mounted independently of the movable jaw and con-V tacting therewith for imparting movement thereto, the axes of movement of the pivoted jaw and of the cam lever being parallel and a screw spindle cooperating with said cross heads for imparting movement simultane ously thereto.

l. An implement for stretching bands embodying a plurality of crossheads each pro-. vided with a gripping face on the under side thereof, movable grippers each pivoted to one crosshead for movement relatively to said gripping face, operating members separate from the movable grippers, each operating member being pivoted to the crosshead independently of the attachment of the gripper and positioned for contact with said gripper so as to actuate the latter, the axes of movement of said grippers and of the operating members being parallel, and a screw spindle cooperating with 'the crossheads for imparting'movement simultaneously thereto.

5. An implement for stretching bands embodying a plurality of crossheads each provided with a gripping face on the under side thereof, movable grippers pivoted to one crosshead for movement relatively to said gripping face, operating members separate from the movable grippers, each operating member being pivotally attached to said said crossheads for imparting movement simultaneously thereto.

6. An implement for stretching bands embodying a plurality of crossheads each provided with a gripping face on theunder side thereof, grippers'each pivoted to one crosshead for movement relatively to said gripping face, a screw spindle-connected with said crossheads for imparting movementsimultaneously thereto, I and cam levers pivoted to the crossheads to extend outwardly from the same, each cam lever being pivoted for movement on an axis parallel to the axis of movement of the complemental gripper and said cam lever'being supported independently of its complemental gripper andbeing positioned for contact therewith so as to actuate the same. V

7. An implement for stretching flat bands embodying a plurality of crossheads each provided with a fixed jaw the gripping'face' of which is on the under side of the cross head, a plurality of movable jaws each pivoted'to one crosshead for movement relativelyto said gripping face of the fixed aw, a cam lever pivoted to each crosshead and positioned for contact with said jaws for imparting movement simultaneously thereto,

the axes of movement of the cam lever being substantially parallel to the axis of move ment of the jaw complemental to said cam lever, and means for effecting relative movement between said crossheads.

8. In an implement for stretching bands,

a plurality of crossheads each provided with a fixed gripping face and with a plurality of movable jaws the gripping faces of which are in cooperative relation to said fixed gripping face, and a cam lever pivoted intermediate said movable jaws and positioned for contact therewith to impart movement simultaneously thereto, combined with means for effecting relative movement between said crossheads.

9. In a band stretcher, a crosshead provided with a fixed gripping face and with a plurality of movable jaws positioned for movement relatively to said gripping face, and a cam lever contacting with said jaws and operable for imparting movement simultaneously thereto.

.In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Brooklyn, New York, this 18th day of July, 1918.

VINCENT RAGONA. 

